In a world where Apple can do no wrong and Google has had some product flops, this week their roles have reversed.
Google launched its most ambitious social initiative yet with Google+. It is getting very good reviews from GigaOM, TechCrunch, Mashable and others.  Due to “insane demand“, Google had to shut down invites to manage a slower rollout.   (Even further proof that the world is upside: one of the original Apple Macintosh designers was the lead designer for Google+).
Beyond the smart design though was also a smart strategy.  First, Google …

Now seems like a good time to remind you that you can’t ride on your past accomplishments for very long.  If you aren’t working to stay ahead of the curve, your company is going to be left behind.
Years ago I was bemoaning to a friend about how I had missed the opportunity to invest in BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM).  They were on top of the world.  Now app developers are leaving them, and everyone believes they are dead.
This shouldn’t be shocking, especially to those people that study and …

Consumers are frustrated.  As innovations lead us to newer, better, faster, more powerful products and services, we keep finding a disparity between our purchase of those products and services and the rights we have to them.
Google and Amazon both recently announced online music “lockers” that allow consumers to upload music – that they have legally purchased – for backup purposes and to stream via a web browser or mobile app.   But the music labels think they should be paid to allow this type of service.   As a result, …

With this last post of 2010, I wanted to write about some of my observations of retailers and products during this holiday shopping month.
Charity giving at the register. When I was making a $50 purchase at the local Pottery Barn, as I was paying the clerk asked if I’d like to donate $1 to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.  I think this is a terrific way to raise money (and I said yes).  First, I’ve already taken out my credit card, so that barrier is gone.  Second, they didn’t ask me …

In the early days of the Apple App Store, there were free apps and there were paid apps.  With the release last year of the iPhone 3.0 software, Apple began to support “in-app purchases”, and there were great expectations (and a little trepidation) that it would help developers make more money off of their apps by offering them for free, and then charging for various things like new levels, hints, or virtual goods within the apps.
Apparently this simple pricing innovation is indeed reaping big rewards.

I just bought my new iPhone 4, but I really wanted to “go Droid”, probably with the Droid X from Verizon. Of course, at the pace that new handsets are being released there is always a better device right around the corner.  But at some point you have to stop waiting and take the plunge.
I certainly wasn’t lacking in reasons for ditching the Apple/AT&T “partnership” (I use that term loosely).  AT&T has been ripped from Day 1 for not being able to handle the bandwidth requirements of iPhone users.  They …

When I was growing up, running a lemonade stand was easy.  You picked a hot day, made sure you had a good location, priced it right, and provided a quality product.
But in the Web 2.0 world we live in, that just isn’t enough.  Everyone knows that it takes much less capital to start a business then it did 20 years ago, so everyone in your neighborhood is probably thinking about starting a lemonade stand too.  How will you ever be able to beat the competition?  Here is your guide to …

We took the kids to the Carnegie Museum of Art yesterday.  To keep little kids interested they have a scavenger hunt, where they describe a painting in each gallery that the kids need to find.  I always appreciate businesses that provide these types of family activities, or at the very least a way to distract the kids (like a restaurant that hands out crayons and coloring paper to kids – every restaurant should do this).
As I walked around the museum I had two separate thoughts on innovation.  First, I began …

I wrote earlier about how I was underwhelmed by my Apple iPad after the first few weeks of use.  With my iPhone and my laptop always handy, I just never had a real need to use it.   Now I need to (slightly) revise that opinion.
I just came back from a 2 week vacation with my kids, my wife, and her parents, and the iPad was in constant use by all 6 of us.  The USA Today app is fantastic (while its free) and we all used it to get …

In a recent post I wrote about how I had no intention of paying the high fees that media companies were charging for the online versions of their magazines and newspapers.  Don’t mistake that position for thinking that I believe all content should be free – far from it.  I am ready to embrace micropayments, when the model becomes widespread and standardized, as a means to purchase unique, valuable content a la carte.
But the idea that I would pay more for the online version of a magazine or newspaper, or …